The Silver Fiendhttp://thesilverfiend.com
I'm not a treasure hunter, I'm a treasure FINDER!Sat, 19 Jan 2019 22:01:07 +0000enhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.3http://thesilverfiend.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/favicon-100x100.pngThe Silver Fiendhttp://thesilverfiend.com
3232Choosing your first metal detectorhttp://thesilverfiend.com/choosing-first-metal-detector/
http://thesilverfiend.com/choosing-first-metal-detector/#respondSat, 19 Jan 2019 22:01:03 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=8257If you are sitting here reading this article, then you are very likely also looking for an answer to the most often asked question What metal detector should I buy? If you are having trouble with this first step, don’t worry, most people get stuck here. I still remember buying my very first detector {read […]

]]>If you are sitting here reading this article, then you are very likely also looking for an answer to the most often asked question What metal detector should I buy? If you are having trouble with this first step, don’t worry, most people get stuck here. I still remember buying my very first detector {read the story here}. I spent months staring at pictures of every make and model. After reading every detector review and article in every treasure hunting magazine I could find, I still couldn’t decide on a metal detector. However, you have the entire contents of the world-wide-web at your finger tips to make it easier, although, all of today’s options probably makes it more confusing!

I ended up buying a very cheap and basic detector. It was basically junk. I don’t recommend you follow that route, as it can make this great hobby feel extremely frustrating. So, I’m going to try to help you make this first step onto the path of the detectorist.

So, what’s the best metal detector for you? The best metal detector is the one that is right for your personal wants and needs. Depending on where you live, your budget, and what you’re interested in finding – there are a multitude of different metal detectors you can choose from. Below are the basic questions you need to answer for yourself to narrow down your choices.

What do you want to find?

The first step in choosing your first detector is defining your interest. You need to have some idea as to what you want to hunt for. For instance, if you live in areas that have had quite a bit of Civil War activity or Colonial settlers in the area you may want to hunt for relics or very old early American coins. You’ll need a deeper seeking detector, and possibly one made for “all metal” hunting.

If it’s natural gold ( nuggets and flakes ) that you’re after, you’ll need a detector that operates at a higher frequency and probably with smaller coils. This type of detector is more sensitive to smaller gold which is very hard (to impossible) to register on standard detectors. Most gold regions have soils that contain a high level of iron and minerals. These grounds are said to be heavily mineralized, and this creates problems for detecting. If you will be searching some place that is highly mineralized then you need a detector designed to deal with that.

If you plan on hunting in or near the water, especially salt water, you need a specialized detector. Any general-purpose detector works fine in the dry sand, but if you plan to be in the water (even shallow wading) then you’ll need an underwater / beach / land metal detector that has a waterproof housing. You need a waterproof model to protect from waves and dunking it from tripping or falling in the water. If you plan on hunting in saltwater, you must have a waterproof detector capable of working in the conductive salts. Most detectors simply will not compromise between dry land hunting and salt water beaches because they chatter too much near the water to use effectively. If the chatter can be eliminated, you also lose the majority of it’s detection abilities

If you plan to be searching in your neighborhood parks, playgrounds, old school yards, and many other “dirt” sites, then an all-purpose metal detector is the one for you, and there are many to choose from. These types are used mainly for finding coins and common jewelry. Most metal detectors manufactured today, are “all-purpose” detectors – and they’re available within every price range. Many are easy to use for beginners and very affordable.

What is your budget?

Whatever your budget level is, my advice is simple – buy the best you can afford. The better your detector, the more sensitive it will be and the deeper it will penetrate. As a rule, the more expensive the detector, the more features and abilities it will have. Whatever your budget, be it $200, $500, $1000 or more, you can narrow the field down to find THE BEST option for you. When you’re first starting out, if you’re not sure if you’ll even like the hobby (or if budget is a concern), you’ll probably want to get yourself an entry level detector.

At the time of writing this guide, a quality entry level metal detector will cost you anywhere from $160 to $400. Anything over $400 I consider to be mid-level or better model. Just to put this price into context, some detectors can cost up to $10,000. Yes, $10k. But machines that cost this much are designed as highly specialized detectors with capabilities far exceeding “regular” models.

Many people get into metal detecting to be a hobby that “pays for itself”. That concept isn’t actually “wrong,” but it’s the wrong approach. Don’t try to justify the cost as a “return on investment” business expense. Don’t think of your new metal detector as an expense; think of it as an investment for fun, adventure and excitement! Keep in mind this is a hobby, just like fishing or golf. People don’t get into other hobbies to make money. Do it for the fun!

Is there a best metal detector?

Quite honestly, for general purpose machines, there is no best detector. A lot of people think certain machines will find better stuff or get better depth. Yes, this can happen if we’re comparing a $100 machine with a $800 machine. But for the most part, the ‘best’ metal detector is (sort of) a trick question. What works best for one person, for one type of detecting in one location may be terrible for another person with different circumstances.

For simplicity sake, all metal detectors do the exact same thing – detect metal. What makes certain machines more expensive than the others is the additional features and newer technologies. It’s really that simple. If I put a silver coin in front of you and hand you a $100 machine and a $2,500 machine, they’re both going to tell you there’s a coin in front of you. Now let’s say I also put an old rusty nail next to that coin. The $100 machine will detect metal, but it won’t be sure what the target is. The $2,500 machine will go so far as to tell you there are two targets in front of you, one that is a coin and one that is iron. That is just one example of how the entry level machines differ from the more expensive ones.

Are you experienced?

Don’t worry if you’ve never metal detected before. There’s plenty of detectors that are powerful, yet simple enough to guarantee an excellent experience for operators of all experience levels. Most modern machines feature “quick start” settings that make treasure hunting as easy as installing batteries and turning on the detector. With the push of a button, simple features let you zero-in on old coins, rings, and relics while filtering out most iron junk. Automatic tuning helps you calibrate your detector for different ground conditions and cancel out interference from power lines. Don’t worry though, you don’t have to master everything about your detector right away. Any of the more advanced features will be waiting for you when you’re ready to begin adjusting them.

Even if you have used a detector before, possibly many years ago, things have likely changed. That antique detector in the closet may still be capable of finding coins but weight, power and ease of use have all made huge advances over time.

I realize that after reading this article, some people will begin calling dealers asking for recommendations armed with the above information about their specific needs. Many of you have read this far and are saying, “Please! Just tell me what entry level, general purpose metal detector I should get!” OK, to help you out, here all the most popular entry level models currently available from the best brands (in no particular order).

Garrett ACE series (150, 250, 300, 350)

Fisher F11 or F22

Teknetics Eurotek Pro, or Delta 4000

Minelab X-terra series, or Go-Find series

Tesoro Compadre or Mojave

Whites Coinmaster.

These are all entry level machines and you could pick any one of them and be very happy. Take a few minutes to look up some of the models and pic one that looks best for you. You can’t go wrong with any of the ones I mentioned above so take your pick and get out there! If you are now asking “where do I go to buy it?” There are lots of dealers available, either online or possibly local to you. Just make sure you buy from a factory authorized dealer for the brand you choose. I’m partial to Big Boys Hobbies. The owner, Bart, is a great guy and great at helping you with your detecting needs.

]]>http://thesilverfiend.com/choosing-first-metal-detector/feed/0GPS integration – Google Earth and image overlayshttp://thesilverfiend.com/gps-google-earth-image-overlays/
http://thesilverfiend.com/gps-google-earth-image-overlays/#respondSat, 19 Jan 2019 20:10:34 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=9222The world of treasure hunting has only improved in the digital age. Learn how to GPS and internet research to get on target faster

]]>Integrating GPS into your treasure hunts can be one of the best things you can do to improve your chances of success. The biggest hurdle is that a lot of people aren’t “tech savvy” and intimidated by the unknown, but fear no more. Here is a step by step process to help you zero in on those spots that you know are “somewhere in that area”.

Welcome to the digital age

The first step is to download the Google Earth Pro Desktop app from https://www.google.com/earth/ and install it on your computer. This has a lot of powerful features, including high resolution imagery, 3D cityscapes, detailed road maps, panoramic imagery at street level, as well as switching between historical satellite imagery and overlaying digital images.

Historic map image

OK, now that you have the mapping program, you need to integrate your aerial pictures or historic maps into it. Make sure that you start with the highest resolution digital images possible. You will really appreciate that fine detail when you zoom in and are still able to read names and labels.

1) Zoom in to the location that you are conducting research on.2) Click on the “Add Image Overlay” button on the top of the image viewer.

3) Give your image overlay a name, this is what you will see under the “My Places” on left hand side of the app. In this example I named this “Overlay 1”.4) “Link:” is where you tell Google Earth where to find the image you want of use. You can use the “browse” button to the right to locate the file in it’s sub-folder.5) Adjust the transparency. If you are overlaying on an existing town, its usually easier initially, to leave this as completely “opaque” to help you line up streets.

6) Move and adjust the image. Look at the green marks on the overlaid image. These are image adjustment points. Left-clicking and holding one of these green lines or points allows you to move the image around and scale it to size. If you notice my overlay, because I used a large size file, it will initially lay the image over a much larger area than you really want. Click and drag the green corners or sides to bring the image to the correct size. Use the center cross-hairs to click and drag it to the correct position.

NOTE: when adjusting size with the corners, it IS NOT a scaled adjustment. You can skew it longer or wider depending on how you use your mouse. Some image programs use corner tabs as a scale up or down while preserving the original ratio. This has led to some confusion for people while using Google Earth.

7) Once you have the rough sizing and location set, use the Overlay window to adjust your transparency. I like to set it about 75% so that I can see the existing ground feature through the overlay.

8) Make your fine adjustments. Tweek the sizing and location until the overlay points (streets, lots, buildings, etc) are as close as possible to those still-existing map points.9) add any notes you want to remember in the description tab. If you need the overlay image rotated, you can use the green diamond on the side of the image overlay to make large adjustments. If you need some fine adjustment, click on the “Location” tab of the Overlay window. There is a rotation setting that you can manually change by extremely small increments if need.10) Click “OK” to lock in your overlay. If in the future, you want to adjust the overlay further, find the overlay name under “My Places”, right click the name and chose “options” at the bottom of the pop-up. This will bring up the Overlay window for all adjustments and changes.

One thing to keep in mind is that regardless of how detailed and precise the old maps you are using to overlay, do not expect them to match 100%. Getting one block and buildings lined up to existing structures will possibly leave you slightly off on another. Be happy to get 98%. You are still going to be within a few feet of true which is close enough for treasure hunting! If you really want to get as precise as possible, you would need to digitally cut up the map section images and adjust them block by block. City blocks often do not stretch from street edge to edge. Most cities have a public right-of-way and the private property lines lay inside. If sidewalks are visible, the property lines usually sit at the inside edge.

Putting the pieces together

If you are anything like me, you are going to be spending a lot of time playing with Google Earth and image overlays. Most towns have many years of old maps available in digital format online. You can have all the overlays visible at once, or one at a time. You can toggle each overlay on and off by clicking the box beside it’s name.

This is valuable when using the historic imagery button at the bottom of the map. This feature is most useful when looking at rural locations. Changes in crops and seasons can highlight features that may help you line up your overlays with more accuracy when you don’t have many (or any) existing structures to use to scale and center your overlays.

When you click that button, a slider will open at the top of the map. You can use this to move back and forth to satellite imagery from different years.

Once you have your historical map or image successfully overlaid, look down at the bottom right corner of Google Earth. Thats where the GPS coordinates are located. Anywhere your pointer is at on the map page, the Coordinates for that exact spot can be found. All you need to do is put those into whatever handheld GPS device (including most cell phones!) you use to allow you to walk to that spot.

Photos and maps and GPS, oh my!

Historical aerial photos, combined with historical maps can be a amazing combination. Case in point: one of my ghost towns that I have spent a lot of time hunting. No photographs of the town have ever been found. One crude map from Grey’s Atlas and a fire insurance map are all that existed. Neither showed EXACTLY where in the farm field the town sat. After a lot of playing and adjusting, I felt I was fairly close, but I was never certain.

Then, I located a 1930 aerial image of the same spot. All the town buildings were already long gone, but the ghosts of the main streets and the town boundary were still visible. The best part was that the image had the entire section of land with county roads and field boundaries.

This let me easily set the 1930 picture to the exact points that still exist today. Then I could adjust the fire map to match the roads and nearby structures in the picture. And there I had it! Now I had the town buildings exactly in place and I can pull GPS coordinates for any feature I wanted. Then its a simple matter walk to that spot in the middle of a farm field to begin hunting.

]]>http://thesilverfiend.com/gps-google-earth-image-overlays/feed/0The big onehttp://thesilverfiend.com/the-big-one/
http://thesilverfiend.com/the-big-one/#respondSat, 21 Jul 2018 21:14:13 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=9136The big one Ever heard the phrase “opportunity knocks but once”? Well that message was not lost on me this week as I lay around the house sick with the flu. Thinking back over the number of places my feet have trod this year while detecting I recalled with clarity one thing that I had […]

Ever heard the phrase “opportunity knocks but once”? Well that message was not lost on me this week as I lay around the house sick with the flu. Thinking back over the number of places my feet have trod this year while detecting I recalled with clarity one thing that I had forgotten about. There was a time when I was detecting a large field near Galveston bay when I received a strong silver indication. The kind you don’t get from tin cans or metal trash but it was large and deep and as I recall it was a drippy day and water stood in places around the muddy field and my wife was along with me on this trip but had elected to sit this one out in the car. Knowing full well that I had extended my “grace period” of her time I got this signal and made one or two attempts to dig it out with a six inch digger. The attempt failed and when I glanced at the car I figured that I had better put this off for another day. Well to make a long story short I never returned to it or that field again. Only this week my mind seemed to pick it out of thousands of places I have hunted with such clarity that it seemed important to me even in my feverish state.

Now you might say that who would have left anything of value like a large cache of silver in some old field there because that is what I asked myself when I recalled it. And then thinking on it a bit I realized that six flags have flown over Texas and a number of explorers have walked this land. The Spanish, the French, the Mexican army, the early Texas army, early Texas pioneers, and not to exclude the famous pirate Jean Lafitte looking for places to stash his pirated silver and gold which he stole from the Spanish who stole it from the Indians all frequented this area. Also the early pioneers were prey for the pesky canabalistic Indians which flourished in the area. So it has had some activity and a substantial number of stories about buried treasures here. My mind considered the strong silver indication and thought about chests of reales, bars, or even more likely the large flat silver plates that were stolen from the Spanish who mined them in Mexico or central America.

Ok, I reminded myself, I won’t forget this when I get well enough to return. I will go back and locate that place and I just hope that I don’t find a large square hole in the ground where it was.

Always remember those places that looked very promising where you gave up digging for one reason or another. Most importantly don’t be too quick to blame the detector or just ignore the thing that isn’t a coin anyhow.

I remember a friend recalling an incident that happened to his friend while he was treasure hunting in Mexico around one of the abandoned hacienda’s or “great houses” in that country. He had searched all around the area finding the little relics and coins that could be picked up just under the soil when he got a strong broad signal. His reaction was to slap his detector and curse the thing and leave the signal as just a bad indication. Well time passed and he gave up his hunt and some time later a detachment of Mexican soldiers who seemed to know what they were looking for arrived at the house. They walked back and forth to find the location of the “bad signal” and upon digging a bit were rewarded with a wooden plank in the hole. They finished digging it out only to uncover a crate of gold bars! Well it only goes to show that the detector was trying to tell him something interesting and his reaction was disgust, anger and impatience which led him away from his destiny. Please consider any indication which you may have received or will receive could be your destiny just underfoot and give the detector the consideration that it deserves and just dig it up

That brings me to this point, when you don’t have reason or time to dig these targets then carry a probe with you that can at least determine how deep that it really is. I made one for that purpose which has a wooden handle and a small steel rod which I can plunge into the ground at least 3 feet deep and withdraw easily. That should be in your car trunk all of the time and never fail to use it for this kind of signal

]]>http://thesilverfiend.com/the-big-one/feed/0evolution of a detectoristhttp://thesilverfiend.com/evolution-of-a-detectorist/
http://thesilverfiend.com/evolution-of-a-detectorist/#respondSat, 21 Jul 2018 21:04:26 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=9134The Evolution of a Detectorist We get introduced to treasure hunting with a number of motives, some see someone on the beach that has found nice jewelry and run down to the closest shop to grab a detector with gold flashing in their eyes and a grin on their face. Others hear of people walking […]

We get introduced to treasure hunting with a number of motives, some see someone on the beach that has found nice jewelry and run down to the closest shop to grab a detector with gold flashing in their eyes and a grin on their face. Others hear of people walking into the mountains with a detector and coming back with a pocketful of gold. I think the very old motive of greed fires their imagination and gets them started. Some are out to make their fortune by discovering shipwrecks, or locating lost treasure troves. Many are introduced to metal detecting by others and the thought of even small adventures delight them. Almost none at all treasure hunt with the same reasons that they started with. Something happens along the way that changes the way that they look at treasure hunting for good.

After a person gets a detector in his or her hands for a while and takes that trip to the site they want to hunt, they discover two things. First they have to overcome the shyness that tells them that they look very goofy with large earphones, digger in hand and eyes glued to the ground. This is much harder for some than others especially when the three year old walks up to them and asks them what they are doing, or insists on holding a conversation while they have to take the earphones off each time they are asked something. Second they are lucky enough to have a quiet time on a good day when the bell rings now and then and they notice that this is an extremely pleasant experience. Best of all are people who by their nature are happy with even the small discoveries

After the treasure hunter has successfully mastered the goofy feelings and has developed a technique to fend off the kids they begin to work on developing better ways to hunt. By learning their detector better they can fine tune it for the conditions that they encounter and notice that the finds are beginning to grow.

Now the second stage of evolution has started where the detectorist discovers that they cannot escape the labor intensive job of researching old sites or treasures. This can best be accomplished during a prolonged rainy period or a snowy winter. The weekend has arrived and the pressure has built up because what they really want to do is just go out and treasure hunt and it is impossible. The second best thing to do under these circumstances is drive to the county seat town and find their oldest library. These contain a treasure of information in themselves, from very old maps to historic books on the small towns around the area. If this is not enough then drive to all of the small towns in driving range and look in the historic section of the library. Sometimes the most amazing things can be discovered here with the location of century old homesites to railroad depots and fairgrounds. The practice of research can be very fruitful and a pleasant pastime in itself. But then you notice… you have changed! You now have a fascination for life as it was lived and lifestyles a century ago or more. You could even wish for a time machine to walk back in time and just to see the things that are gone and never to be found again. My fascination has led me to enjoy reading about the Houston to Galveston Interurban electric train that ran in 1911 at an astounding top speed of 80 MPH! The cows must have stampeded when they heard the whistle and what a high in 1911 when everyone down here just hitched up the horse to the wagon to drag through the muddy prairie to town every now and then. The power stations were still around when I was a little kid but the track was taken up (probably for scrap) and the right-of-way was sold to the electric company.

Then you discover that whatever reason that got you started in metal detecting has grown into a delightful lifestyle. You join clubs and enjoy the companionship and ideas of other treasure hunters plus the fun of metal detecting events now and then. In the mature stage you realize that your detector is good for something besides pennies at the park but all kinds of treasure hunting, old battlegrounds, ghost towns, beautiful beaches, underwater hunting, gold prospecting but most of all to keep alive that spark in your eyes and adventure in your soul where tomorrow just might be “the day”. The benefits of detecting have enlarged out lives and friends we have found along the way are best treasures of all. I was working on becoming the worlds number one couch potato and the treadmill that I bought was money better spent on a detector since I walk about ten to fifteen miles swinging that coil every week and don’t complain about time wasted on exercise. The only downside I have discovered is a two week period in the spring when all of the trees put on pollen that I will try to avoid next year by going to the beach.

]]>http://thesilverfiend.com/evolution-of-a-detectorist/feed/0Dark moon treasurehttp://thesilverfiend.com/dark-moon-treasure/
http://thesilverfiend.com/dark-moon-treasure/#respondSat, 21 Jul 2018 20:42:44 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=9131DARK MOON TREASURE The one thing that separates a successful treasure hunter from the rest of the field is the ability to perceive untouched treasure sites. This is a difficult thing to do so we offer these pointers for your consideration. Ever since the advent of laws and community ordinances prohibiting the natural inclinations of man, […]

The one thing that separates a successful treasure hunter from the rest of the field is the ability to perceive untouched treasure sites. This is a difficult thing to do so we offer these pointers for your consideration.

Ever since the advent of laws and community ordinances prohibiting the natural inclinations of man, there have been those who have sought out a living in the underground economy. In specific I am pointing out the activities in the countryside where moral citizens have worked to establish a dry county or outlaw illegal gambling only to witness a flurry of underground activity working hard to provide these things.

Times were often hard and as the sawmills and workplaces went out of business the people who could not find work to provide a meal to their family, would often create a new sideline job even if it ‘was’ a little shady. Since most treasure hunters seek out places for older coins and artifacts I bring this to your attention There were considerably more stills and whisky traders than the law admitted and the new pastime for poorer young people turned out to be drinking and gambling. Most of this was done after dark and coins were scattered everywhere when they were dropped and you could not show a light. The stills were situated near a flowing creek where water could be found for the mash. The mash required some kind of meal mostly corn and lots of sugar so there was always a lot of activity in just supplying the stills. At night customers would approach and whistle or signal so they would not be shot at, and money would change hands by moonlight. There was of course the enemy of the bootleggers, the revenuers, or sheriff could show up at any time and the night would turn into a frenzy of wild shots and cries while everyone ran into trees and tried to get away or fought their way to break up the still. Needless to say the still was cut up by axes and whisky spilled on the ground. These sites (and there were plenty of them) can often be located because by now the old timers just laugh about those times and don’t mind telling where some of them were located.

There was also the shady practice of selling whisky in the dry counties. A trip to a wet county would spread the buying over several liquor shops where no one could tell on them. and after dark on a moonless night the booze would be buried all around the yard of the individual who would sell to the rest of the community. Customers would pull up in the drive and blink their lights to signal a buyer and the seller would collect a hand full of money (much more than the retail price) and proceed to dig a hole behind the tree in the yard where he would find a bottle of whisky. One problem with this practice is that the busier the seller the more demand to remember where he buried the whisky! So countless bottles of the stuff are buried to this day. This was general knowledge to everyone in the town but proving it was something else since the sheriff would challenge the seller but unless he could spot a trade going on or find the booze in the yard he didn’t have a case. The seller always kept a large number of dogs around who could spot sheriff or thief sneaking up at night and the practice continued for years.

Then there was the practice of gathering on weekend nights to gamble in the woods. After dark the gamblers and tricksters slipped through the woods to a remote location where no one could see a fire from the road. Whisky was sold also and after a while these little get together’s would breakup in a fight and probably a shooting. This was a normal night and not to mention that someone would try to stick them up for all of that money every now and then. After the eventual fights and shots in the dark money flew everywhere as everybody tried to grab a handful before they were shot. The floor of the woods would yield a treasure in coins that quickly fell through the piles of leafs laying everywhere. These sites go back for so many years in the small towns before legalized gambling that almost every town had one. It may be possible to talk to older folks in the park and ask about these. Most older folks enjoy talking about the crazy things they did when they were younger and may show you the best site that you have ever known!

]]>http://thesilverfiend.com/dark-moon-treasure/feed/0Overcoming failurehttp://thesilverfiend.com/overcoming-failure/
http://thesilverfiend.com/overcoming-failure/#respondSat, 21 Jul 2018 20:27:27 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=9127OVERCOMING FAILURE So many have found that treasure hunting is not the search for treasure but the search for the “perfect detector”, one that locates deep objects, identifies correctly, and pinpoints exactly. There are a lot of detectors on the market that should be junked and you may never find what you are looking […]

So many have found that treasure hunting is not the search for treasure but the search for the “perfect detector”, one that locates deep objects, identifies correctly, and pinpoints exactly. There are a lot of detectors on the market that should be junked and you may never find what you are looking for. We live in an imperfect world and life as we know it is mostly a tradeoff between what we want and what we can afford. I think that getting the most bang for the buck is very important and sometimes the most expensive detector fails miserably. We as treasure hunters have one thing in common: we get a kick from looking for a big find and we suffer when we come short. Many just won’t admit failure and continue to haunt the same old places over and over even when there is nothing to find. Nine out of ten places that I have hunted that looked great were stripped of everything or never had anything to start with. The really great spots that had an abundant supply of coins seemed to be just places that for one reason or another were never hunted. Believe it or not these sites do not replenish in one season but are the result of ten or twenty years of accumulation. This leaves me with the conclusion that I will have to search more for sites to hunt than search the ones that I have found. I have narrowed it down to regularly working the sweet spots that I have found that produce regularly (although sparingly) and driving into new territory every week to map out possible sites.

This brings me to point out the difference on technique that I want to illustrate. Many treasure hunters plan a day to hunt the new site that they have located and like many in our midst do not discriminate but dig everything. This means that if the site was a poor choice and has few or no coins the whole day is wasted because this hunter will dig pulltabs all day to find an old wheatie. Some of us are happy with their wheatie and far be it for me to interfere with their fun, but we all like to have that nice feeling of noticing our pockets bulging after we hunt a while. I believe that we cannot help but realize we need a quick readout of all of our potential hunting sites, after all someone else may have his or her eye on the good one. To obtain a quick readout it would be best to use a detector with a target ID and by that I don’t mean these pieces of junk that pretend to have a target ID but one that works and will tell you when it is a quarter or dime. Even if you don’t like to hunt with it you should have one to locate the good places.

School is out this week in my area and that means a free for all for the coins, but which school, there must be a hundred or more in my area. The way I will find the good ones is to set my detector notches all off except for quarters. Why quarters? because they are the easiest ones to find even with a bad detector and if I can fast walk the school grounds in five minutes I will know within five dollars just how much is located there and how much trash there is. If the neighborhood kid has a cheap detector and works the school he may miss some dimes but he will find most quarters. It is rare indeed when I find a school these days that has not been stripped out but I will probably find some, and it is obvious that if I don’t find them first they may not last long because we have more and more new hunters all of the time with better and better equipment!

So if you cannot afford a target ID detector then turn your discrimination up where quarters is all you can find and practice the fine art of scanning sites. You must keep a list of hunting sites because it is impossible to remember all of them, at least in the cities, and rate them after you scan them where you will improve your chances and return with your pockets full and a smile on your face.

I do believe that you should turn the discrimination low to hunt but only after you have found the very best sites. There was a school that I found last winter where the quarters were so thick that I didn’t even stand up to hunt them and it looked like someone took a bushel of quarters and threw them to the ground. It was most likely where the boys wrestled on the deep grass and was also where there were a number of gravel pits and monkey bars to keep the amateurs busy in the kid’s playpens while the real treasure lay wasting in the field. A five minute walkthrough will show you the very best place to hunt coins and where coins are lost many other things can be found. I have found gold jewelry laying in the field at an elementary school

Of course not everyone wants to hunt for coins, maybe they are on the trail of a lost mine or a sunken Spanish ship but I have found gratification in just the small things while I keep an eye out for the big things. I just get a kick every time that two bit belltone sounds on my box and at the same time I chase down stories about pirate treasure buried near my town. Even if I never find the chest of gold I will have a good day looking for coins at some school nearby and in the long run even that will add up.

Success is making each day count and taking opportunities when they are available. The chances are that when you find a successful treasure hunter he or she will not be cussin’ their detector but making the best out of what they have.

]]>http://thesilverfiend.com/overcoming-failure/feed/0The Questhttp://thesilverfiend.com/the-quest/
http://thesilverfiend.com/the-quest/#respondSat, 21 Jul 2018 20:17:57 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=9123 THE QUEST FOR SPANISH GOLD Chapter one – DEJAVU From the days of our childhood many of us kids dreamed of discovering pirate treasure, gold and silver coins from ages past. Since I live in the backyard of Jean Lafitte and he reportedly buried tons of the stuff around here I guess the dream still […]

From the days of our childhood many of us kids dreamed of discovering pirate treasure, gold and silver coins from ages past. Since I live in the backyard of Jean Lafitte and he reportedly buried tons of the stuff around here I guess the dream still lives. From time to time it is sparked to life by stories I have heard like one fellow who was building a new home on Galveston beach and as the bulldozer leveled the land it pushed up a chest full of large silver plates, gems, and gold coins. So I know that it is most probably still around and I have researched history and listened to stories until I had enough to prompt an investigation.

My wife and I were armed with two Garrett GTA1000 detectors and accessories as we plowed through the grass probing for signals. The search had gone on for several hours and had no results when my expectation suddenly peaked. The area looked like the one we were looking for and there wasn’t any metal trash.

I slowed my search so that I would not miss anything as I excitedly listened for “the” signal that I was looking for. Suddenly it was there! Just exactly where I thought it might be. My mind raced as I hesitated to dig it before I took pictures. I was sure that I would find gold! Finally I could not stand the suspense and started digging. I reached into the soil and felt that familiar touch; a pulltab!! Stay tuned for chapter two – the story continues.

]]>http://thesilverfiend.com/the-quest/feed/0Tiny treasureshttp://thesilverfiend.com/tiny-treasures/
http://thesilverfiend.com/tiny-treasures/#respondSat, 21 Jul 2018 20:09:54 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=9121Tiny treasuresYou know that things have changed these days when you drive by a school yard at an elementary school and remember what you used to do at recess compared to activities now. The boys would always find some distraction to busy themselves with, keep-away or kick the tin can and the girls used to […]

You know that things have changed these days when you drive by a school yard at an elementary school and remember what you used to do at recess compared to activities now. The boys would always find some distraction to busy themselves with, keep-away or kick the tin can and the girls used to skip rope, hop-scotch or just sit around in the shade and talk. Then kids weren’t hyper active, requiring constant medication, they were just plain kids. Some played games and some just sat and talked depending on their disposition or social attitudes. Today they do not have the chance. One school near here just sends them running around and around a very large field until they are ready to drop in to their chairs at the end of recess. Not much social interaction there, just draining the hyper activity some. One school had all of the kids trying to play soccer on concrete with several hundreds of dollars of protective gear on. I shook my head over that one, but the school nearest me with hoards of kids had them play soccer on large grass fields with no gear on. Crashing into each other and the ground but not just the boys, but girls (aggression training?) were not playing with the girls but slamming themselves into the Melee in hard competition with the boys. You might understand why many adults now are not quite sure of their gender, but pardon my digression because my story is not about the schools but only about the large school yard near me. One of the liberties I take sometimes is extrapolating societal changes to the future of this planet. I guess it comes from early goals established in my childhood which intended my adult role as a gentleman and the girls, as ladies. A historic anomaly I’m sure.

The school yard has been well stocked with coins and objects of delight enough to keep me busy when I don’t have time to pursue the larger treasures. I have detected every square foot of the place by now and have dug basically all of the coins. In the winter when the sky is clear and the sun feels warm and comfortable I still return to the field to look for a different kind of treasure these days. For some reason, I am not sure why, there are little pieces of aluminum cans twisted into small pieces and buried every step or so all over the place. Up until now I have avoided digging these either because the ground was too hard or it was too hot to waste time on them. I have discovered, to my delight, that almost every fifth or sixth trash target turns out to be some neat little thing that I never expected to see there.

One day after the coins played out I started just digging every tiny piece of metal that I could find and was ready to give it up as the sun was going down when I pulled out a mans large gold nugget ring with 5 diamonds, fake of course, but interesting enough to bring me back to try it later. One tiny signal turned out to be a very tiny gold locket with a small diamond but the picture had faded out and in a few minutes I came up with a beautiful gold dipped Indian head penny, 1905, that was cutout very intricately around the Indian’s headdress. The detail was very sharp and I began to get really interested what lay ahead of me as there are many acres in this school yard. Before long I dug up a 100 peso coin, brass of course but they always make me think I have found a gold coin. On it went with rings and pins in between 5 or 6 twisted pieces of aluminum. I began to see where it came from with the girls wearing the trinkets crashing headlong into the running and kicking game where many accidents were bound to occur with all of the jewelry flying everywhere in the grass. One strange thing I found was a small chrome bracket that I just couldn’t figure out. Sometime later I found the answer. An American Spirit chrome whistle in perfect shape without the bracket that holds it onto a chain. I am pleased to say it is now returned to functional order and I will take it with me when I go detecting the beaches next time.

You see, metal detecting is not only a great way to exercise, but you can rediscover the delight you had as a child when you found something good, meet great friends, and expand your mind in ways that challenges your creative thinking. In my experience I have found the people who I have liked the most were the ones who could find delight in the smallest of things, not racing in the fast lane of life like some super Mario game, collecting trophys while stepping on others in the path but spending time wisely because time after all is all we really ever have.

]]>http://thesilverfiend.com/tiny-treasures/feed/0Treasure is where you find ithttp://thesilverfiend.com/treasure-is-where-you-find-it/
http://thesilverfiend.com/treasure-is-where-you-find-it/#respondSat, 21 Jul 2018 20:03:03 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=9119Treasure is where you find itSurprises are there for people who are looking for them. This week we have hunted the beach for four days and we have had low tides to look for gold rings but alas! no gold. However my wife who loves to hunt for treasures of a different sort uses her […]

Surprises are there for people who are looking for them. This week we have hunted the beach for four days and we have had low tides to look for gold rings but alas! no gold. However my wife who loves to hunt for treasures of a different sort uses her Garrett along the high beach and rocks and grass. Needless to say she does good. She finds loads of coins but there has been a strange development lately. In the four days we hunted this week she found twenty eight dollars, greenbacks, bucks, folding money! She started some last summer at the beach by finding some every time we hunted almost and she has been perfecting her methods. She hunts along the grass where the dollars that are blown in the wind will catch on the weeds but some of her finds were made with just a scrap of green showing. She has narrowed her view to look closely for the greenbacks but she often finds more coins than I do too! What did I find this week? well I went to the beach by myself and as I got tired walking long stretches of beach I sit down on a rock to rest. Looking down I spotted something green sticking out of the sand. I thought that it might be a seal off a pack of cigarettes or some other thing but it was a dollar bill…. well almost. It was about 35 cents worth torn from a bill. But I am improving, that is the most I have ever found there and maybe I can learn to look for them too. This week she started it off by finding a twenty dollar bill and the next day a five. The other bills followed later this week but she always walks across the beach grinning at me and I know what it is. She has found the folding money again.

We learned that last year on one large beach that people stay out late after dark sitting on the beach and when they get up it is late and the wind has died and they can’t see that they have lost bills from their pockets. In the early morning as the wind picks up the bills start blowing across the beach and its a greased pig chase for the bills.

This has been a fun sidelight to our metal detecting and you can look for bills too but it takes a keen eye and knowing where and when to look. The next time you are swinging down the beach take a look along the grassy area and focus on the green. You can find them too. Not long back there was a guy on the internet who for $20 would tell you how to train your dog to smell money but save the twenty and get a money sniffin’ wife.

]]>http://thesilverfiend.com/treasure-is-where-you-find-it/feed/0spreading oak tree Chapter 2http://thesilverfiend.com/spreading-oak-tree-chapter-2/
http://thesilverfiend.com/spreading-oak-tree-chapter-2/#respondSat, 21 Jul 2018 19:55:44 +0000http://thesilverfiend.com/?p=9117Under the spreading oak tree Chapter Two I ordered the small coil for the CZ7 detector and it seemed like forever before it finally came and the rains continued so that the ground was soaked here. The little coil was a tool that can be used when you have masking problems that occur when there […]

I ordered the small coil for the CZ7 detector and it seemed like forever before it finally came and the rains continued so that the ground was soaked here. The little coil was a tool that can be used when you have masking problems that occur when there are iron and nails scattered in the soil where you can look right between two iron objects and see a deep old silver coin. Well when I finally got the chance to detect the old site again the day was threatening with sprinkles of rain and darkening skies.

I walked in a pattern making sure to overlap my coil swings so as not to miss anything and before long I started picking up coin signals. Now I had taken an old Indian head penny that I have and moved it across the coil to see where it would show up on the LCD meter and as I suspected it indicated that it was a (zinc) penny so when I swung my coil across the ground today I was looking for that same indication hoping for old Indian head pennies. Needless to say I got several signals that indicated that they might be Indian head pennies but they were not deeper than 4 or 5 inches deep and all turned out to be newer zinc cents. Drat! I found well over a dollar in newer coins and kept listening for the deep signals but they were not there.

It looked like there was a church activity going on and before long a couple of nice ladies were curious about that strange man out there waving that device around and I removed my earphones so I could hear them. I explained that since this site was going to be a construction site that I had asked for and received permission to detect there and I had a nice talk with them and discovered that one lady attended the old academy before it was torn down and she told me that I was digging in the wrong spot (sigh). Oh well, live and learn, the Academy was on the other side of the parking lot but I didn’t have permission to hunt there.

I quickly finished up my pattern search of the area and walk back the perimeter to the car when I got a strong coin signal from the detector. It indicated that it was about 6 inches deep so I got interested as I removed the plug. The soil was gummy and very moist and as I separated the plug I was looking at a very bright silver quarter. No it was not very old but it was a 1960D silver and in nice shape. That brightened my mood some as I returned to the car.

Upon returning home I looked through the coins and saw a quarter sized disc that was covered with a hard crust and it looked to have been in the ground a long time. At first when I dug it I thought it was a punch out plug from an electrical box but upon inspection I could see writing on it so I put it in soapy water to soak. I can read something like PICKING CHECK but It is unclear and I will have to soak it or use electrolysis to remove the heavy crust.

Thinking back on it there had to be something built on that spot because the ground was full of artifacts that I didn’t dig because it would have left a nasty hole to fill and there were tons of nails there. Perhaps they had piled the remains of the old Academy on the area but I suspect that in the old days there was an old outbuilding there. Well I learned that the new small coil works excellent in such conditions and I think I may attempt to gain permission to hunt a century old Hotel site in a small town near here soon or try to find one of the old Confederate army camps near here.